Hundreds of BIS graduates gather at UCC for unique event

A special breakfast to honour the Business Information Systems (BIS) Class of 2023 took place at UCC this week.

This unique event for students and families ahead of the official ceremony has been running since the first intake of BIS students graduated 26 years ago, and over the years close to 3,000 graduates and families have attended the event.

This year 146 students graduated from BIS, and the breakfast was attended by more than 300 people including students and their parents, UCC President Professor John O’Halloran, Professor Thia Hennessy, Head of the College of Business and Law, course and department leaders, lecturers and members of the BIS Industry Advisory board.

Professor Nancy Pouloudi from Athens University of Economics and Business who is the President of the Council of the Association of Information Systems (AIS) was also in attendance.

BIS is part of Cork University Business School and is a practical course combining business subjects with information technology, with a 24-week paid placement at the conclusion of the third year of study central to the programme.

Graduates are employed in diverse roles including data analyst, risk assurance associate, trainee accountant, technical support engineer and HR operations administrator across the financial services, pharmaceutical, logistics, IT, health, education, agriculture and semi state sectors.

The top performing graduates were recognised during the event, with Orlaith Cashman named the Bank of Ireland BIS Graduate of the Year, Henry Cullen named the BIS Citizen of the Year and Sean O’Mahony awarded the Final Year Project of the Year.

Keynote speaker Clara Walsh is head of customer operations & support at Workvivo, who graduated from UCC in 2014 and joined the Cork-based start-up as its first employee in 2018.

“BIS definitely launched my career off in the best possible way," she said.

“Working in a start-up has given me an opportunity to experience many different roles and I would encourage graduates to make the most of every opportunity.

“Work on projects and roles even if they are outside of your area of expertise - I’ve always enjoyed trying different things because it helps me to figure out what roles suit me best, the key is to never stop learning.” 

Professor Frederic Adam, Head of Department of Business Information Systems added: “It has been a long and a challenging road but they have made it and it’s important to mark this milestone.

“The world is moving incredibly fast, however, our graduates have developed the necessary skills to enable them to thrive, especially in the application and deployment of emerging technologies.”